past-tense

65 years ago – 1949

An early October snowfall left 3 inches of snow on the ground.

 

60 years ago – 1954

There was dancing every Saturday night at the Pine Cove Lodge.

 

55 years ago – 1959

A free “trans-ocean telephone call” to Hawaii or Alaska would be offered to someone at the next Rotary meeting. The audience would listen in on loud speakers.

 

50 years ago – 1964

Cable television franchised by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors was being offered on the Hill.

 

45 years ago – 1969

Volunteers were being sought to help the Forest Service repair the Scenic Trail before winter. Little or no regular maintenance had been done on the trail since being built 10 years previously.

 

40 years ago – 1974

A joint, all-out, seven-day-a-week fire patrol effort was initiated locally by the U.S. Forest Service and the California Division of Forestry. Members of the Fire Watch units would patrol on the ground and in the air every day until the close of fire season.

 

35 years ago – 1979

Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies again raided marijuana fields in Anza, seizing $10 million worth of pot and arresting 12 people. It was the latest in a series of raids that had begun in August.

 

30 years ago – 1984

Prices for some products offered at Fairway Supermarket: Bananas, 5 pounds for $1; carrots, 1 pound for 25 cents; and onions, 6 pounds for $1.

 

25 years ago – 1989

Larry Bischof, owner of Harmony Farms Nursery, was told by Riverside County Road Department officials that he had to give the county right-of-way on 15 feet  of his land for future expansion of Highway 74 from a two-lane to a four-lane highway.

 

20 years ago – 1994

About 150 people demonstrated along a stretch of Highway 243 to express their opposition to abortion.

 

15 years ago – 1999

Residents were stunned by the deaths of three young teachers from the Desert Sun Science Center’s Astrocamp. They were killed in a traffic collision while changing a flat tire on the Long Beach 710 Freeway.

 

10 years ago – 2004

About 40 volunteers, many of them kids, spent 20 hours raising the skate ramps for the Idyllwild Skate Park and the long-awaited skateboard park was opened.

 

5 years ago – 2009

Beginning Oct. 15, the Idyllwild Business Roundtable was to premiere “3rd Thursdays!” with participating Idyllwild merchants aiming to entice local shoppers by staying open until 8 p.m., offering special treats, giveaway gifts or entertainment, and donating a portion of each 3rd Thursday’s sale to a local nonprofit.

 

1 year ago – 2013

A Santa Ana wind event combined with near-record low fuel moisture posed a substantial fire threat through the prior weekend.

Similar Posts

  • |

    Past Tense: April 7, 2016

    65 years ago – 1951 Ranchers and property owners in the Anza Valley organized an electric cooperative to bring electricity to 300,000 agricultural acres. 60 years ago – 1956 Max and Bee Krone, together with Meredith Wilson, wrote a new Smokey Bear song that was approved by the U.S. Congress. The Krones also finished another…

  • Past Tense: August 1, 2013

    65 years ago – 1948 Formal opening ceremonies were to be held to mark the completion of the Banning-Idyllwild Highway. 60 years ago – 1953 The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Geological Survey Division began a project to map inaccessible areas in the local mountains. 55 years ago – 1958 The Idyllwild Chamber of Commerce…

  • Past Tense: Dec. 2, 2011

    60 years ago – 1951 Thanksgiving was followed by a beautiful snow fall that left 3 inches in Idyllwild and 8 inches in Tahquitz Valley. 55 years ago – 1956 The newly organized Pine Cove County Water District planned to ask voters to approve a $110,000 bond issue to purchase facilities and make improvements. 50…

  • Past Tense: May 16, 2013

    65 years ago – 1948 Plans were being made for The Wild Idle Days celebration to be held in July. 60 years ago – 1953 Dick and Virginia Homan took over operation of the Hillbilly Variety Store while owner Edith Oliver recuperated from surgery. 55 years ago – 1958 Idyllwild’s first massage parlor was opened….

  • Past Tense: April 12, 2012

    65 years ago – 1947 The U.S. Forest Service reported the insect situation had become critical in the Idyllwild area. Warm weather added another hatch of bugs and 750 trees were infected. 60 years ago – 1952 The season’s rainfall totaled 43 inches. • • • Town Crier saluted Denis Evarts Bowman as one of…